Method of forming cork articles



March 6, 1945. F. B. MENGER ETAL 2,371,050

METHODOF FORMING CORK ARTICLES Original Filed Aug. 23, 19259 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 6, 1945. F. B. MENGER ET AI.

METHOD 0F FORMING CORK ARTICLES original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 6, 1945 METHODA OF FORMING CORK ARTICLES Francis B.A Menger, Lancaster Township, Lan-` caster County, and Luther E. Gaenzle, Lancaster, Pa., assignors to Armstrong lCork Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania 1 Original application August 23, 1939, Serial No.

Divided and this application September 3, 1942, Serial No. 457,196

7 Claims. (Cl. 18-55) l cork. f

This invention pertains to the forming of cork articles by the method which is referred to as extrusion and relates particularly to an extrusion method by Whicha proper condition o f lubrication is maintained in the extrusion tube or barrel.

In the method of forming cork by extrusiony the natural cork is disintegrated into small pieces or granules. These granules are then mixed with a binding agent, a very small percentage of b-inder being used. Binders which are commonly employed are mixtures of gelatine and formaldehyde with possibly some glycerine to act as a plasticizer, and another binding agent which is used .is phenolic resin. The cork granules or particles, after they have had a binder properly applied thereto, are dry, more or less discrete particles which at room temperature have little tendency to cohere, and the amount of binder employed is so small that normal inspection does not reveal its presence. The prepared cork particles are charged into a hopper at the base of which is gj, horizontally or vertically extending extrusion' tube or barrel. A plunger reciprocates back and forth in the bottom of the hopper and into the barrel. On each forward strokeit pushes some of the material in the hopper into the extrusion tube or barrel. rIhe fresh material being pushed into the barrel is forced up against previously compacted material already in the barrel and is tightly compacted against the mass that has already been formed in the barrel. As additional increments of material are forced into one end of the' extrusion tube and compacted, the compacted mass is forced out the open end of the extruf sion tube as a continuous length of molded and bonded cork particles more or less densely compacted. The extruded mass is periodically cut oif, usually into regular lengths for subsequent fabrication and use. lExtruded cork rods of the proper diameter are extensively used to form the liners for crown caps, the rods being cut transversely into thin slices to form the disks or liners that are subsequently applied to the crown caps. Extruded cork is also used extensively for cork spinning cots, expansion joints, etc,

AWhen the mass of compacted cork is being forced through the extrusion barrel or tube, heat is applied tothe barrel. Thefheat, in conjunction with pressure, causes the binder to set. It

is Well known that cork, when it is pressed against metal, has ahigh` coeflicient of friction and will not readily slip or slide over the surface into coni tact with `which it is pressed. The compacted mass of cork particles in the extrusion tube being compressed against the Walls of the tube, has a tremendous frictional engagement with `the walls of the'tube, and the lresistance of the compacted mass to `movement through the tube is further increased when the mass is heated due to the fact that the air within the cells of the corkk is expanded by the heat, tending t'o expand the volume of the mass in every direction. While considerable resistance to the free movement of the cork through the extrusion tube is necessary in order to secure the necessary compacting and bonding of the mass, an excessive amount of friction between the compacted cork and the barrel will prevent the compacted mass from moving alongv inside the tube and the mass being extruded freezes in theextrusion tube and if furtherincrements of cork are forced `into the tube, `the y When the cork particles arejsubjected'to a pressure in the extrusion tube, some ofl this lubricating material willv be forced out against theinterior of the barrel and some of it will be attracted -to the exterior of the mass by capillary action as the heat'penetrates through the mass. This lubricant which thus comesto the surface of the mass and comes into contactwith the interiory of `the barrelor tube, servesto reduce the friction and prevent freezing or reduces the tendency of the mass to freeze. This method as above described for lubricating the interior of extrusion tubes is open' t0 several objections. In the rst place, While the quantity of lubricant used is very small, all of the lubricant cannot be forced to the outsideof the mass and much of it is 'retained i-n the body ofthe mass being` formed. This may be objectionable `in some instances Where liquids are sealed with such liners and particularly Where the liquid is` sterilized in the container and the container and contents are subjected to heat.

Where the extrudedmateriall is subsequently to'be used for a friction surface, the presence of lubricant diffused through the mass is obviously objectionable because it` reduces the coeflicient` of friction of the material. Its presence in the material often interferes with the dressing of the molded cork surfaces by abrasive wheels as is necessary, for example, in using extruded Vcork for cots of spinning rolls. These cots are usually pre1-r pared by buffing the surface thereof initially and from time to time after they have been used with an abrasive wheel, and the small amounts of lubricant in the extruded cork composition tend to choke the pores in the abrasive wheels so that the abrasive wheelshave to be dressed from time to time to enable them to properly buff the cots. In addition to the objections, some of which are noted above, to the presence of the lubricant in the molded article, this method of lubrication now generally employed is also unsatisfactory for other reasons. In the rst place, a lubricant and bond cannot be compatible and therefore the presence of lubricant interferes to some extent with the electiveness of the binder which is used to bond the granules of cork together. Also, considerably more lubricant has to be used than is actually required for the purpose for which it is provided.l

The present invention pertains to process for the production of a cork composition article wherein only the material on the surface of the article has lubricant applied thereto and a method whereby the article is formed by extrusion with the lubricant applied directly to the interior wall of the extrusion tube or barrel in small quantities where it is picked up by the cork particles which move along in contact with the interior of the barrel. The lubricant thus picked up by the cork is carried along with the compacted mass serving to properly lubricate the movement of the compacted mass through the tube. Articles formed by extrusion are usually shaved by a mechanical shaving or trimming device to remove the outer skin or outside parts of the extruded articles and bring the articles down to the finished size which is required.

When lubricant is applied in accordance with the present invention, the material which carries the lubricant is thus for the most part trimmed or shaved off vin this operation so that none or little of the lubricant is in the finished article. 'Ihe invention 'therefore overcomes the objections which have heretofore been encountered by havreference to the accompanying drawings which f disclose certain apparatus useful in eiecting our method for the production of a cork composition article. Inthe drawings: i

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a portion of a typical cork extruding machine arranged to effect the method of our invention, the extruding plunger in this view being shown in its retracted po-sition;

Figure 5 is an elevation showing a plunger having a helical groove therein for use in the arrangement shown in Figure 4; y

Figure 6v is a transverse section throughv the plunger near its inner end, the view being in substantially the plane of line VI-VI of` Figure 5, the View being illustrative of this portion of the plunger in all of the embodiments illustrated.

Referring first to the construction shown in Figure 1, 2 designates a hopper fixed on a support 3. Passing horizontally through the hopper is a tube 4, the rear end of wlrich is screwthreaded into an abutment 5 which firmly anchors the tube against movement in the direction in which the compacted mass is moved. Machines of this character as usually constructed'generally have a plurality of these tubes arranged in side-by-side relation, as is well understood by those skilled in the art, but since this forms'no part of the present invention, it has not been illustrated, a single tube `sufiicing to illustrate the present invention. The tube is cut away at 6 so that material in the hopper may flow into the tube. The forward endof the'tube projects beyond the hopper. A chamber I is provided around the projecting end of the tube for the circulation of a cooling fluid therethrough, this chamber being close to the hopper. Between the chamber 'I and the end of the tube is a similar lstructure providing a chamber 8 for the circulation of a heating uid. Heat is required to set the binder while the cooling chamber 'I is provided to prevent the transfer of heat ,along the tube into the hopper.

An extruding plunger 9 is slidably fitted in the tube 4 and a reciprocating head 9ct serves to operate this plunger. Hydraulic power may be used for this purpose. In Figure 1 the plunger is shown in its most retracted position. At this time material in the hopper may flow through the cut-out portion 6 in the tube 4 into the tube. As the plunger 9 moves forward, it shoves this material ahead of Ait and cuts olf the further entrance of material into the tube. As the plunger continues to move forwardly, the material which has been charged into the tube is compacted and I lompressed against material previously forced Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section generally similar to Figure l but ori a slightly larger scale showing a modified form of apparatus for carrying out the method of our invention, the plunger in this view also being Shown in its retracted position;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section shown in Figure 2; l

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a. further modification in which means is shown of the apparatus for imparting a slight rotary motion to the plunger into the tube. This compacted and compressed mass is indicated at Xin Figure 1. With each .been described is generally old in the art and forms no part of the present invention. For use according to the present invention the plunger 9 is provided at the rear end thereof with a socket I0. Projecting forwardly from this socket IIJ is a plunger chamber I I. Extending axially alo-ng the ram or plunger 9 fr'om the chamber II is a bore I2 and at the forward end of the bore I2 is a restricted passageway I3 which also extends axially of the plunger or ram 9 and opens into a chamber I4 in which there is a ball check valve I5 with a lspring I6 for yieldably holding the ball seated against the outer end of the restrictedV orifice or passageway I3. A screw plug Il in the .end of the ram or plunger 9 affords access to this I8; f A plurality'of radial holes I9 of veryl small diameter lead from the-groovell into the chamberI4.

Entered into the socket I atrthe rear ofthe ram or plunger 9 is the cylindrical end of a coupling member 20, the coupling member 29 having a forwardly extending projection or plunger 2'I the innermost end of which has a working fit in the chamber II. This coupling has a flanged outer end portion 22 that is received in a rabbeted slot 23 in the cross head 9a, this connection between the cross headl andthe coupling member 2U being suiiiciently loose to allowV slight -relative movement in either a vertical or transverse 'direction so that the head 9a may servek to transmit reciprocating motion to the ram or plunger 9 and still allow the ram' or plunger to properly align itself in the tube or barrel in which it reciprocates. The coupling member 20 is connected to the plunger 9 through a lost motion connection comprising a slot 2'4 in the coupling member 2li and a transverse pin 25 which passes through the slot 24 and is carried by the outer end of the ram 9. In the socket I 0 betweenthe coupling member 20 and the inner end of the socket is a compres- A sion spring 26. The spring`26 is stiff' and serves to transmit motion toward the right as viewed in Figure 1 from the cross head 9a to the plunger or ram 9. When, however, the resistanceencountered by the ram 9 to further movementtoward `the right is suiiiciently great. the spring 28 will `compress'allowing the coupling member 2U' to Opening into the chamber I I is a nipple port in which is a nippleZ'I to which is attached a'eX- ible tube 28 leading from a lubricant reservoir 29. Thelubricant reservoir contains the lubricating material to be applied to the interior of the barrel and it is in the form of a pressuretight chamber. Air under pressure may be appliedv to the reservoir 29 through a pipe 3|)` and a pressure regulating valve 3 I. for the particular lubricant which I desire to employ, pressure -of approximately 30 lbs. per square inch may be satisfactorily used in the reservoir for forcing the lubricant from the reservoir through the tube 28 into the chamber II.

Whenthe parts are in the position' shown in Figure l, lubri-cant is. forced from the reservoir into the chamber II and along the' barrel I2 but the pressure of the lubricant is normally insuiiicient to cause the lubricant to flow past theA check valve I5. When the materialbeing compacted offers sufficient resistance to the movement of the ram 9 so as to cause relative movement between the ram and theV coupling 20, the` plunger 2.I on the coupling member 20 moves toward the right as'viewed in Figure 1 alongthe chamber II thereby applying pressure to the lubricant in the chamberl II and passageway I2l to for-ce a` limited amount of the lubricant through the orifice I3 past the check valve I and out the radial passageways I9 into the annular groove I8.

With the arrangement shown in Figure 1 the lubricant is applied only when they material in the extrusion tube or barrel builds up4 aresistance I have found that pick upA some of the lubricant and as the-extrudi ing process continues carry the lubricant on The application lofv lubricant to the cork particles will be'only toy those particles which Wipe against the inner wall sumcient to cause a compression of the spring-.25. It; the material iiows` through the tube freely enough' so that thespringl 26 is notcompressed, no lubricant is forced'out. Itwill also be apparent -that pressure required tocompress the spring 26 is'encountered only after the forwardlend ofy the plunger or ram 9 has moved past the hopper `and is actually compacting the material in-the 4tionshownl in Figure land then the plunger'or `ram 9`is withdrawn to the position shown irl-Figure 1,' the cross pin 25 serving to transmit motion from the cross head to theram on the retracting.

stroke of the cross head. l

The apparatus described provides ior the'ejec'- tion of a -limited amount of lubricant to"the;walls of the extruding barrel or tube ,4 at a time-when the plunger is near the innermost limitv of its stroke and at a time whenthegranular-material which has been pushed forward bythe plunger has been compacted sufficiently to cause the yspring 2B'toyield.' When `the plunger or ram retracts,` the lubricant which has been forced out against the walls of the'barrel 4 willbe wiped or spread by the plunger and on the next forward stroke of the plunger, the loosegranules which 1 scrape or travel along this lubricatedv area will through the extrusion tube.

of the tube and consequently the lubricantfwill contact only those particlesfor the most `part` which form the outermost part or skin ofthe extruded article. L Y

By reference to Figure 6, it will be noted that the holes I9 through which the lubricant passes from the center to the Vperiphery of the ram' or plunger are equidistantly spaced. This is not `only to secure distribution of the lubricant around the inside of the barrel, but it also causes the pressure of the lubricant to be balanced on all sides of the plunger so "that the 'plunger isv not forced off center by the pressure of the incoming lubricant but is iioated in a central position in the barrel. y K Y n i Instead of constructing the apparatusso that it applies lubricant only When-the friction'of f the materialexceeds a certain maximum, ra Small 'amount of lubricant may be applied `at regular intervals. The modication shown in Figures 2 and 3 illustrates an embodiment of my invention v wherein the lubricant is applied at each stroke of the compacting ram or plunger. They general construction of the eXtruding machine shown in Figures'Z and 3 is of course theA same as that' tting parts to prevent relative longitudinal ,movement thereof. This collar may conveniently be made in two parts bolted together about the ram 9. As shown in Figure 3, the collar is pro- .vided with a plurality of adjustable bolts 33 which areV screwed through the collar and which have terminal portions 36 adapted to strikeV a stationary part of the machine as for example the collar 5 when the plunger has been projected a predetermined distance toward the right from the position shown in Figure 1. When th'e terminal' portions 34 of the bolts 33 Contact a sta.-

tionary part of the machine, the plunger 9 cannot move any further toward the right and continued application of pressure to the coupling member 20 causes-the coupling member 20 to slide toward the right against the compression of the spring 26. The forward movement of the plunger 2l Yof the coupling member 20 in theV machinev may ybeV changed to vary the point on the interior of the `barrel Il at which lubricant is applied. The bolts 33 thus provide an adjustable abutment which limits the inward movement of the ram and at the same time determines the point at which lubricant is applied to the interior of the extrusion barrel `or tube. In order to control the volume of lubricant which is ejected on leach stroke, a spacing ring 35 is provided between the extreme end of the plunger 9 and a shoulder L36 formed on the coupling member 2li. The maX- limum relative4 movement which can occur between the coupling member andthe ram is thus limited'by the thickness or width of the collar335 in the direction of the axis of the plunger. If,

, lfor example, the ring shown in Figures 2 and 3 were replaced by a wider ring, there could be less relative movement betweenthe parts so that the lubricant ejecting plunger 2i on the coupling member 20 would have less relative .movement inthe chamber ll and therefore less lubricant Would be ejected on each stroke. Vice versa,

` by substituting a narrower ring, more lubricant would be ejected onk each stroke. It is ofcourse feasible to use shims inaddition tothe ring `35 to provide small increments of change in the amount of relative movement to thereby avoid f cant over the inner rwall of the extrusion tube,

it is desirable to impart aslight rotary motion to This rotary motion not only more effectively spreads the lubricantv over the interior of the barrel, but it also aids in preventing a cone of compacted cork and binder from building up on the inner end face of the plunger. In Figures 4 and 5, I have illustrated one arrangement for positively securing suchrotary motion.y In these figures the general construction and arrangement of the parts is the Vsame as that heretofore described and similar reference numerals have been Lusedto designate the corresponding parts. l5

Inv the construction shown in these two figures, the plunger or ram 9 is provided on rits surface with a cam slot 31 of a length corresponding to the length of the stroke of the plunger and which has a helical pitch of a very gradual angle. Secured to a stationary part of the machine is a bracket 38 on the end of which is a camroller 39 that engages in the slot 31, the arrangement being such that as the plunger reciprocates back and forth, the cooperation of the helical groove and the cam roller 39 will impart a slightv rotary motion to the plunger or ram 9. v

It will be understood lthat the modification shown in Figures 4 and 5 is applicable toeither of the embodiments of the invention previously described. As a matter of practice, I have found that vinstead of using` a means such as .the cam and groove arrangement just described for rotating the plungers, a denite but less positive rotary movement maybe obtained by making the ilexible tubes 28 sumcientlyheavy and of such length that when the yplunger isA reciprofc'ated, the bending of these tubes between the the substituting of one collar for another. .The A bolts 33 should be adjustedwith changes in the spacing ring 35 so as to avoid any possibility of breakage if the operating head 9a has a predetermined length ofstroke. j Y

From the foregoing description it will be see that in Figure l the injection of the lubricant .is controlled bythe resistance of material to movement through the tube and the volume 1of uid is also regulated to some extent by `this resistance because the greater the resistance the more the relative travel between the coupling member 20 and the main ram or plunger 9, whereas with the arrangement shown in Figure 2, lubricant is vejected on every stroke of the plunger and the volume of lubricanty is'controlled by definitely limiting the relativey movef plunger which reciprocates rand the reservoir which is stationary will besuch asto cause the plungers to rotate through a limitedarc about theiry axes. If the plunger 'is turning while it is retracting over the inner wall of the `barrel against which lubricant has been ejected through the ports I9, the end portion of the plunger orv ram wiping over these lubricated" areas spreads the lubricant to assurea more even distribution of the lubricant around the interiorfof the tube.

The check valve l5 has two important func-y tions. First, it prevents the lubricant fromforcing `out ofthe ram or plunger under the pressure applied to the lubricant in the reservoir 29 so that the lubricant does not continuously drain or ooZe from the plunger; and second, it prevents by holding back pressure in the passageways I8, the migration of minute cork particles into these passageways andthe compacting of such particles therein sothat the passageways always remain free and clear for lubricant. Instead of 'an opengroove I9, there may be provided an annular recess which receives a relatively tightly matted hair felt washer through which the lubricant may be forced and effectively spread. v

Becauseof the unique properties of cork and of the uses to which extruded cork is put, the lubricant is oi a peculiar character. The usual oils and greases are not available because 0f the possibility of imparting a taste to the contents of any bottles in which such cork would be used n with a rubber-containing material such las latex. `The latter is usually employed where the binder lis a gelatine binder and the former where the binder is a resinous binder.

While we have illustrated certain specific embodiments of our invention and disclosed specic methods for practicing the same, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the apparatus and method Within the contemplation of our invention and under the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1'. In the method of forming a molded mass of cork from a mass of cork particles and a binder by compacting successive charges of the massforming material in an extrusion tube, the step which comprises applying lubricant directly to the interior surface of the extrusion tube between the feeding of successive charges of cork particles into the extrusion tube.

, 2. The method of extruding cork in an extrusionapparatus having a compacting ram and an extrusion tube in which the cork granulesv are incrementally charged and fed into the extrusion tube which comprises directly supplying a fluid lubricant to the interior wall of the tube between the feeding of successive charges of cork particles into the extrusion tube in such manner that the material contacting the wall of the tube is substantially the only material brought into contact with the lubricant.

3. In the method of terial are forced by a ram from a hopper into the tube and compacted therein which comprises applying a fluid lubricant to the interior wall of the tube between the compacted mass and the hopper between the feeding of the successive increments of the loose material into the tube.

4. In the method of forming extruded Aarticles from granulated cork and a binder wherein small increments of the mass-forming material are successively pushed into an extrusion tube and compacted, the step which comprises applying lubricant to the wall of the tube between the successive introduction of some of the increments extruding cork by the. extrusion process wherein increments of maand after the compacting of the increment last introduced.

5. The method of forming cork articles by the extrusion method in which a mass of cork granules and a binder are incrementally fed, compacted, and forced through a tube which comprises lubricating the tube by the direct application of lubricant thereto between eachsuccessive introduction of an vincrement of cork granules whereby substantially only those cork particles which form the exterior of the extruded article are contaminated by the lubricant and thereafter removing such contaminated portion.

6. In the method of forming cork composition bodies by extrusion of comminuted cork and a binder through a tube, the steps of intermittently introducing increments of cork granules coated with a heat activatable binder into vsaid tube and forcing the same therethrough, applying heat to said granules while conned in said tube to expand the same, activate the binder and form a bonded body, and supplying a lubricant directly to the interior surface of the extrusion tube prior tothe movement of each successive increment into the heating zone to facilitate passage of the compacted granules through the heating zone after expansion of the cork granules induced by heat.

'7. In the method of forming cork composition bodies by extrusion of comminuted cork and a binder through a tube, the steps of feeding cork granules coated with a binder into an extrusion tube, heating said cork granules while confined in said tube to expand the same, activate the binder and form a bonded body, and supplyl ing a lubricant to the interior surface of the tube between the feeding of successive charges of cork particles to lubricate those cork particles which will formthe outer surface of the article while said particles are conned in the tube prior to expansion.

FRANCIS B. MENGER.

LUTHER E. GAENZLE. 

